German expat shares UAE stories and runs community sewing project in Abu Dhabi
Alexa Siersdorfer, who came to the Emirates for her husband's job, writes about Emirati culture for German readers and leads a pillow-sewing project for cancer patients.
German expatriate Alexa Siersdorfer first came to the UAE in 2008, when her husband's job brought the couple to Dubai. They had expected to stay two or three years, but the posting lasted longer, and in 2014 they moved to Abu Dhabi. A lifelong interest in writing led her to a German-language magazine in the UAE, which she later owned and edited.
Siersdorfer writes about the country's culture, heritage and people for German-speaking audiences. She has travelled to Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Delma Island, and says the welcome she received in small villages shaped her view of the country. In 2018 she joined the Women's Heritage Walk, which commemorates the journeys women once made through the desert between Al Ain and Abu Dhabi.
She also runs an initiative that brings German women together to sew heart-shaped pillows for people with breast cancer.